Mark Mason and His Music

Mark Mason, Folksinger/Performer/Teaching Artist and Published Songwriter with BMI honed his skills on the coffeehouse circuit in Saratoga Springs, NY, starting in 1973 at the famous Cafe Lena and graduating to the college taverns and restaurants of the Northeast.

Mark’s love of the mountains and valleys kept him in the Northeast; developing a following and playing in the summer mountain and ski resorts the area is famous for. In 1985, he spent a year in Nashville, TN to learn first hand about the industry. After recording in Toronto, Canada with the Gordon Lightfoot Band (Rick Haynes, Terry Clements, Barry Keane and Mike Heffernan), Mark decided to do an about face and move south to Orlando, FL.

Mark developed a new following in Florida, and he continued to fine tune his writing skills. He signed publishing contracts for his songs with a company out of Nashville. Mark worked steadily in and around Orlando at many well known places such as Sloppy Joe’s on Church Street, The Lake Buena Vista Hilton, The Orlando and World Center Marriott’s, Dubsdread, and many popular English and Irish Pubs.

In 1996, fate brought him back to Upstate New York and the mountains he will always love where he worked steadily in the Lake George, NY region.

Mark is extremely pleased with how well the music of his “Mark Mason” CD has been received. As a matter of fact, in May of 2005, Mark was in Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada to see Gordon Lightfoot perform. Mark met Lightfoot 40 years ago and has continued to stay in touch with him. While backstage Mark was able to give Lightfoot, his idol in the industry, an autographed copy of his CD. In June, Mark received an unexpected call at home from Lightfoot who wanted to tell him that he had been listening to the CD for two weeks. He had been busy but wanted to call and let Mark know how much he had been enjoying the CD. Gordon’s exact words were: “It’s a great piece of work. You should be very proud of it.” He then remarked on their long acquaintance and all they had each been through. Mark was thrilled that Gordon took the time to support him and to recognize his talent.

2007 saw Mark returning to his way of life as a Folk Singer, performing exclusively for Coffee Houses, Nursing Homes, Retirement Homes, and Assisted Living Facilities. He prefers to perform for people who will enjoy his collections of originals, folk songs and sing alongs!

Two summers ago, after his sixth season performing for dinner cruises aboard the famous Mohican in Lake George, N.Y., a Steamboat listed on the National Register of Historic Places, he and his wife purchased a house in Summerville, S.C. near Charleston. Mark has finally left the mountains for the seashore. He stays busy now performing his original and other classic folk songs working as a Folksinger/Performer/Teaching Artist performing in schools, libraries, history festivals and events, coffeehouses and museums sharing his love of history and music.

Make it a point to check out Mark Mason in the Charleston area. Mark has never been better at what he does!

His brand new CD entitled “Charleston-Musical Portrait” is a collection of 10 original songs written in the Americana/Folk genre. Produced by long time friend Rick Haynes (Gordon Lightfoot’s Bassist), it includes Mike Heffernan, (Gord’s Keyboard player), Warren “Wiggy” Toll, (Gord’s Tour Manager), Mark DeCarlo and Michael DiGiorgio sharing their musical talents with Mark’s vocals and 12 string guitar on: www.charlestonmusicalportrait.com Songs that portray some of the history, legends and folklore of the Charleston/Lowcountry area. It’s a fine CD that both he and Rick Haynes are very proud of.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed Mark’s voice, guitar playing and music will enjoy a copy of his latest CD!